MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/. The formation of the Russian National Guard will be conducted in three stages and should be completed within a very short time, National Guard Commander-in-Chief Viktor Zolotov said on Wednesday at a ceremony of presentation of state awards to military servicemen.

"Within a very short time period we should perform a large amount of work for the transformation of the Interior Troops and a number of units of the bodies of internal affairs into the National Guard troops," he said, adding that the transformation will be implemented in three stages.

According to him, all servicemen of the Russian Interior Troops have been transferred to the National Guard at the first stage of its formation. In addition, the new structure will include the Russian Interior Ministry’s bodies and units, in accordance with the Russian president’s decree.

The second stage envisages the elaboration of the troops’ organizational and staff structure, harmonizing the directive documents and assigning specific tasks to all the executives from the deputy commander-in-chief to each military serviceman and staff member. "This major work will not be spontaneous, but systematic and well thought-out, because the new body’s formation also requires taking into account the world experience and the practice of interaction of the bodies and units brought together in the National Guard," Zolotov said.

According to him, the third stage envisages the completion of all the organizational activities for the creation of the Russian Federal National Guard Service and the beginning of execution of the tasks entrusted to the new agency by the presidential decree in full volume.

"Maintaining public order, the fight against terrorism and protection of important state facilities are the functions that have always been performed by the Interior Troops. They will continue to perform them, but within the new Service," the commander said.

On Wednesday, Viktor Zolotov presented state awards to 12 servicemen of the Central Regional Command for strong performance and successes in maintaining the Interior Troops’ combat readiness.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of the National Guard in reorganization of the Interior Troops at a meeting held on April 5 with Interior Troops Commander Viktor Zolotov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Director of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov and First Deputy Head of the Federal Migration Service Yekaterina Yegorova.

Later the presidential decree on establishing the National Guard as a new federal service was published, after which a bill on the National Guard was submitted to Russia’s parliament. Under the presidential decree, Viktor Zolotov has been appointed as the commander of Russia’s National Guard.